Barbour County index. [volume] (Medicine Lodge, Kan.) 1880-current, 1887-01-05
POOR FAIRFAX'S FATE.
Courting Death to Win the Pardon
of a Misjudged Friend.

fNettie Mackubin, in Harper's weeklyl
''She is the most beautiful woman have
ever SEEM
''She is handsome, certainly"
''How oddly you say that; as though yoh
begruged it TO herr
$50 do"
"why, what has she done to youl"
shrinking with pretty affectation of ter
ron from her companion, who has suddeE-
ly grown much too grave for a ballroom,
as he scowls al the graceful back of the
lady they are discussing. did she break
your heart, Captain Lawrence; or has she
poisoned your best friendl''
THAT is just what she did. l DO not
pean, of course, that she put poison in
meat or drink for him." correcting his We
hemence with rather bitter smile, as the
laughter dies out in the pretty eyes up
lifted to his. "She did thing much more
safe for herself, and quite as deadly for
hin-she poisoned his heart and his mind
until. But it is woman's privilege to
be tickle, is it not, Miss Stuart! and quite
the mans fault if he takes her fickleness
too seriously!''
II shall not resent any thing you may
say of women apropos of Mrs Hamilton" /"
the girl says, gently. "You have suffered
so much for your friend that you have al
most right to be unjust to the rest of us"
'Let me tell you about her, and you will
realize that to see her here tonight, with
every thing that a vain woman can desire,
from a rich husband to a dress from
Worth, is enough to make me cynical even
to you"
''Please tell me-"
'We will go into the conservatory, then;
1t is quiet there, and / should be sorry, if
the band were to. cease suddenly, to be
heard bawling poor Fairfax's story as
should be obliged to bawl it here.
Il must go back more years than shall
presently care to remember, for the time
when / first knew Fairfax was when we
were at West Point together-he and his
sworn chum Brooke in the next class TO
mine. A better son, q drawer soldier, a
nobler fellow than Jack Fairfax never
lived. Brooke 1 only knew slightly, but he
was handsome as a young Apollo; ALL ever
heard of him was TO his credit, and Fair
fax loved him as-as David loved Jona-
than.
Il left the Point, of course, year before
they did, and was sent to one of those
places of exile to which our Government
consigns her young officers. The next
year. by rare stroke of luck, Fairfax
joined us at Fort --. / never knew so
happy and so hopeful fellow. No duty
was too trivial to interest him, no success
sion of monotonons days dull to him, for
every thing, little and great, was a prepa-
ration for the life before him-the life that
was to be so long, so full of happiness, of
work and of success.
''The world was very fair place to Jack
Fairfax just then, and men and women no
bly, made in Gods image, but far above
the ordinary level of humanity he always
placed Fritz Brooke. You may laugh at
me, Lawrence he used to say, rather
hurt at the amusement with which l re-
ceiyed some of these eulogies. The world
will know that fellow some day as know
him, and then such doubling Thomas as
your are will be convinced He used to
bore me a little w it'll this perpetual pane
gyric.
"a year passed; Fairfax got his first
leave, and went home for two months,
leaving such blank behind him that we
rather wondered how we had endured life
before he joined. When he returned, the
rumor of his engagement to Miss Chester
preceded him, and prepared myself for a
new course of raptures, with the variety
of having her for subject instead. of
him To my surprise, he talked very lit
tie about her, The sweetest and truest of
women loved him, and was to be his wife
next year, and though absence from her
was hard to bear, yet fellow so unutter-
ably blest as he had no right to complain.
That was all he said. But If he had been
happy before, he was as radiant as sun
shine now.
'The following spring was that of the
French Exposition. and Miss Chester went
to Paris with her parents. II put six
months more absence between Fairfax and
his 1adye-love; bat he abused his selfish
ness roundly for his disappointment. The
autumn came, they returned, and better
still, Brooke crossed in the same steamer
with them, for he also had been in Paris
for several weeks on business Of the sci
entific expedition. Fairfax was to sec his
two idols at once, and if ever see a man
as madly happy as he the night his leave
came, I shall believe him what the Scotch
call fey and expect some calamity TO
overwhelm him. The next morning he
was officer of the day, and was not sur
prised at hearing nothing of him, but to-
ward evening his orderly brought me a
note Of two lines:
MY engagement is at an end. Will yol
make this known, as DO not wish to talk
about itr
II did what he asked me, and to the
credit OF human nature, in that dull gar
rison, where every new subject was a
boon, not a soul ever asked him a question
or uttered a word of sympathy He did
not become cynical or have brain fever. as
heroes do in novels in such cases.
he looked rather badly, and went about
his duties moro quietly; that was all. ex-
cept that Brooke, to my surprise, became
as much tabooed subject as Miss Chester.
fairfax gave up his leave, and the win
20 -rs~.N ~ q.
toward spring by rumors of Indian out
rGges, which increased in horror and ex-
tent, until in May, TO our great pleasure,
we received orders for a summer in the
field against them. 1t was the first bit Of
active service that had come in Fairfax's g
way, as well as mine, and it reused him
out of the quiet, reticent fellow he had be-
come ieto something Like the enthusiast
we all regretted. We were to be largely
reinforced before leaving Fort - by
some regiments from other departments
and much interest was CT course felt as &c
the strangers, or old acquaintances, who
were to be such close comrades through
the chances of our first Indian fights.
"I see we are to have Brooke with u.s.
said, congratulatingly, to Fairfax one
night.
$3.50 hear he replied, 50 briefly and
with such change OF color that for the
first time suspicion of the truth flashed
upon me. and began to divide my wrath
against Miss Chester with Brooke. and TO
be rather anxious as TO what would hap
pen when the two men met. The night the
reinforcements arrived the officers dined
with all of Us at the post commanders s,
and he, Of course, introduced to each other
al who were strangers When in taking
| Brooke about the room, he came to where
Fairfax and were standing, my friend
said, quietly: beg your pardon, Colonel
but even in your house l can not speak 4